LAUNCH!

For Mask Photos & Order Information, 
please see "Need a Mask" (4/25/20). 
For a direct link, click here.

May 30, 2020, 3:22 pm

WE DID IT! 

Great disappointment on Wednesday when weather scrubbed our first manned launch since 2011 at T minus 16. But today, we all sat with our hearts in our mouths - whether on the coast or at home - and listened to near constant weather updates as we went from T minus 90 to T minus 60, 30, 20 - and passed Wednesday's 16 minutes to launch. And then it was down to 10, and the tension mounted. Was it really going to happen, or was one of those pesky storms going to get too close? T minus 5, and we were holding our breath. T minus 2 and I had chills, the hair standing up on my arms. At T minus 30 seconds, the Go for Launch! 

I watched in awe - and no matter how many times you've seen it, a launch is awesome—but this one was special. NINE years since the U.S. had sent men into space. I ran outside, hoping to take a photo, and found the whole neighborhood doing the same thing. Alas, the rainy season storms everyone was worried about were between us and the coast. Not so much as a glimpse of the rocket. I ran back inside. I'd missed First Stage Booster separation but managed to get a bunch of good photos, thanks to our local WFTV Channel 9. 

In the midst of angst and suffering on every side, this was a moment we really needed. Something good. Something going as planned. Something we could take pride in.

Oh yes, there was a moment of whimsy, though I wasn't fast enough to get a photo. After Second Stage Separation when the capsule went weightless, one of the astronauts let loose a stuffed dragon about 12" long - it drifted about the cabin for a few seconds and then disappeared. You could see the astronaut fishing around, trying to find where it went, but it was bye-bye, dragon. It must have gotten stuck on something. But it was a fun moment in a very serious undertaking.
  

Below is a gallery of the photos I took.

First photo is from Wednesday, May 27:  a veteran spent 6 years building a 4-lens telescope that can follow the rocket 10 miles into space. A remarkable achievement. I presume he brought it back for Saturday's launch.

Left - Launchpad 39A. Right - Astronauts inside Dragon Capsule

  

Counting down . . .

Dragon Capsule

Dragon Capsule Close-up

 

Ignition & Lift-off

Success!

First Stage Booster Guidance deployment

Booster Burn - headed toward Recovery

Booster recovered by Drone Ship in the Atlantic

Second Stage Booster

Second Stage Separation

Inside the high-flying capsule

~ * ~

For a link to Blair's tale of space, 

the Blue Moon Rising Series,

click here. 

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace, aka Blair Bancroft